Kawauchi and Kiyara Headline Wan Jin Shi Marathon

Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) returns to Taiwan's Wan Jin Shi Marathon this Sunday for his marathon of the post-Yuta Shitara era. The runner-up in Wan Jin Shi in 2016, Kawauchi is ranked #1 in the field and comes to Wan Jin Shi with wins in his last three marathons but faces a solid field including fellow sub-2:10 man Peter Kiplagat Sitenei, last year's runner-up Tsegaye Debele (Ethiopia), and the only man to beat him last time around, 2016 winner and course record holder William Chebon Chebor (Kenya). Kawauchi plans to use the hilly race as a tune-up for his main marathon of the spring season, April's Boston Marathon.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Rael Kiyara Nguriatukei (Kenya), winner of the 2012 Hamburg Marathon before being stripped of her title and suspended for a positive post-race test for norandrosterone, has the fastest recent time in the women's field with a 2:26:22 winning time at last year's Chongqing Marathon. Close behind is Chemtai Rionotukei (Kenya), runner-up in Taiyuan last year in 2:26:30. The 2:28-level trio of Tizita Terecha Dida (Ethiopia), Ji Hyang Kim (North Korea) and Rebecca Jepchirchir Korir (Kenya) could give the lead duo some trouble if the race turns out a little on the slower side.

In either case, race organizers are predicting course records in both races. Live splits are available here, with a live stream set to kick off at 6:00 a.m. local time on Sunday. Watch the live stream here:

New Taipei City Wan Jin Shi Marathon

Elite Field Highlights
New Taipei City, Taiwan, 3/18/18
times listed are best within last three years except where noted
click here for complete field listing

Men
Yuki Kawauchi (Japan/Saitama Pref. Gov't) - 2:09:01 (2nd, Gold Coast 2016)
Peter Kiplagat Sitenei (Kenya) - 2:09:43 (3rd, Rennes 2015)
Shadrack Kipkogey (Kenya) - 2:10:39 (5th, Seville 2017)
Johnstone Kibet Maiyo (Kenya) - 2:10:50 (1st, Wuhan 2016)
Stanley Kipchirchir Koech (Kenya) - 2:10:58 (1st, Stockholm 2016)
Sylvester Kimeli Teimet (Kenya) - 2:11:00 (4th, Hangzhou 2017)
Isaac Korir (Bahrain) - 2:11:02 (5th, Hangzhou 2017)
William Rutto (Kenya) - 2:11:31 (6th, Zhengzhou 2017)
William Chebon Chebor (Kenya) - 2:13:05 (1st, Wanjinshi 2016)
Tsegaye Debele (Ethiopia) - 2:17:04 (2nd, Wanjinshi 2017)
Benjamin Siwa (Uganda) - 1:01:56 (4th, Cardiff Half 2016)
Aredom Tiumay (Ethiopia) - 1:02:40 (Bahir Dar Half 2016)

Women
Rael Kiyara Nguriatukei (Kenya) - 2:26:22 (1st, Chongqing 2017)
Chemtai Rionotukei (Kenya) - 2:26:30 (2nd, Taiyuan 2017)
Tizita Terecha Dida (Ethiopia) - 2:28:02 (!st, Guangzhou 2015)
Ji Hyang Kim (North Korea) - 2:28:06 (1st, Pyongyang 2016)
Rebecca Jepchirchir Korir (Kenya) - 2:28:16 (3rd, Rotterdam 2016)
Chao Yue (China) - 2:30:27 (3rd, Chongqing 2016)
Salome Jerono Biwott (Kenya) - 2:30:47 (2nd, Hannover 2016)
Mestawot Tadesse Shankutie (Ethiopia) - 2:31:38 (2nd, Rome 2017)
Bekele Geji Geletu (Ethiopia) - 2:34:05 (3rd, Rabat 2017)
Gladys Jerotich Kibiwot (Bahrain) - 2:34:23 (9th, Seoul 2016)
Il Sim Pak (North Korea) - 2:35:33 (5th, Pyongyang 2017)
Ednah Jerotich Kwambai (Kenya) - 2:39:55 (2nd, Kassel 2015)

© 2018 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Morii Surprises With Second-Ever Japanese Sub-2:10 at Boston

With three sub-2:09 Japanese men in the race and good weather conditions by Boston standards the chances were decent that somebody was going to follow 1981 winner Toshihiko Seko 's 2:09:26 and score a sub-2:10 at the Boston Marathon . But nobody thought it was going to be by a 2:14 amateur. Paris Olympic team member Suguru Osako had taken 3rd in Boston in 2:10:28 in his debut seven years ago, and both he and 2:08 runners Kento Otsu and Ryoma Takeuchi were aiming for spots in the top 10, Otsu after having run a 1:01:43 half marathon PB in February and Takeuchi of a 2:08:40 marathon PB at Hofu last December. A high-level amateur with a 2:14:15 PB who scored a trip to Boston after winning a local race in Japan, Yuma Morii told JRN minutes before the start of the race, "I'm not thinking about time at all. I'm going to make top 10, whatever time it takes." Running Boston for the first time Morii took off with a 4:32 on the downhill opening mile, but after that Sis

The Ivy League at the Izumo Ekiden in Review

Last week I was contacted by Will Geiken , who I'd met years ago when he was a part of the Ivy League Select Team at the Izumo Ekiden . He was looking for historical results from Izumo and lists of past team members, and I was able to put together a pretty much complete history, only missing the alternates from 1998 to 2010 and a little shaky on the reverse transliterations of some of the names from katakana back into the Western alphabet for the same years. Feel free to send corrections or additions to alternate lists. It's interesting to go back and see some names that went on to be familiar, to see the people who made an impact like Princeton's Paul Morrison , Cornell's Max King , Stanford's Brendan Gregg in one of the years the team opened up beyond the Ivy League, Cornell's Ben de Haan , Princeton's Matt McDonald , and Harvard's Hugo Milner last year, and some of the people who struggled with the format. 1998 Team: 15th of 21 overall, 2:14:10 (43

Hirabayashi Runs PB at Shanghai Half, WR Holder Nakata Dominates Fuji Five Lakes - Weekend Road Roundup

Returning to the roads after his 2:06:18 win at February's Osaka Marathon, Kiyoto Hirabayashi (Koku Gakuin University) took 5th at Sunday's Shanghai Half Marathon in a PB 1:01:23, just under a minute behind winner Roncer Kipkorir Konga (Kenya) who clocked a CR 1:00:29. After inexplicably running the equivalent of a sub-59 half marathon to win the Hakone Ekiden's Third Stage, Aoi Ota (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) was back to running performances consistent with his other PBs with a 1:02:30 for 8th. His AGU teammate Kyosuke Hiramatsu was 10th in 1:04:00. Women's winner Magdalena Shauri (Tanzania) also set a new CR in 1:09:57. Aoyama Gakuin runners took the top four spots in the men's half marathon at the Aomori Sakura Marathon , with Hakone alternate Kosei Shiraishi getting the win in 1:04:32 and B-team members Shunto Hamakawa and Kei Kitamura 2nd and 3rd in 1:04:45 and 1:04:48. Club runners took the other division titles, Hina Shinozaki winning the women's half

japan running news

Search This Blog